The present invention relates to the prevention of gastric lesions brought about by the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. More specifically, the present invention relates to the prevention of the side effects induced by the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents by administering at least one amino acid. The present invention also relates to anti-inflammatory compositions comprising at least one amino acid and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, for example, aspirin, indomethacin, phenylbutazone, flufenamic acid, ibufenac, mefenamic acid and their derivatives and salts have been used widely. However, as is well known, the anti-inflammatory agents are usually toxic and often induce various side effects. Among them, gastrointestinal disorders are prominent.
On the other hand, there have been reports that amino acids, particularly, L-glutamine are effective for the prevention or treatment of certain experimental ulcers, induced artificially by, for example, stress or pylorus ligation, or chemically by histamine, reserpine or cortisone. However, such preventive or therapeautic effect of amino acids has not been reported on gastric lesions induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents.
In an attempt to prevent the gastrointestinal disorders induced by the anti-inflammatory agents, the present inventors have conducted studies on various compounds and as the result have found that amino acids are effective for the prevention of gastric lesions caused by the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, particularly, aspirin and indomethacin.
Thus, in accordance with the present invention, it has been found that amino acids can prevent gastric lesions induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents to a considerable degree.